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Well I guess this will be the official New York City Marathon report. Figure after a week or so of thinking things over, I might as well have stuff in writing, so maybe I won’t make the same mistakes again…

So I will start this off by the numbers:

Mile

Split Time

Mile

Split Time

1

8:47.24

15

8:43.63

2

7:30.04

16

8:31.88

3

8:14.00

17

8:27.13

4

8:15.08

18

8:25.93

5

7:57.00

19

8:42.48

6

8:03.23

20

9:08.05

7

8:07.63

21

10:37.85

8

8:23.78

22

9:43.07

9

8:18.85

23

10:11.45

10

7:58.28

24

10:25.60

11

8:25.70

25

15:25.37

12

8:13.28

26

10:01.75

13

8:21.43

26.2

2:02.81

14

8:28.04

Summary

3:55:30.58

And now, the words behind the numbers.

So again, even though daylight savings time gifted us with an extra hour of sleep, I still found myself awake way before my alarm. Again, fine with me, more time to do the race day routine and not feel rushed. Eat, have coffee, listen to music, stretch, get dressed, make sure I don’t forget anything. And begin the 3-leg journey to get to Staten Island early enough to prevent any MTA or SI Ferry fails. And within minutes of me getting to the Times Square station, there was a 1 train, which got to South Ferry with no problems. Leg 1 complete. Even though I was supposed to be on the 6:15 ferry and I knew I was a little early, I heard announcements that those of us who wanted to get on an earlier ferry could. So why not. Turned out to be the 5:45 ferry! whoa. Again, just listened to music and zoned out for this 2nd leg of the trip (except when someone pointed out the sunrise to me.) Then onto leg 3-shuttle bus to Fort Wadsworth. Then once there, walking into the Fort while showing our bibs to the security peeps, lest we get thrown out…

So inside, past security, in search of the Local Competitive area. Actually not as tough to find as I thought it was, thanks to the nifty map NYRR gave us-just had to cross a little grassy area in the “open zone.” And according to a couple of my friends, I actually got caught on camera by the news reporting live from Fort Wadsworth! I apparently didn’t look like I knew I was on camera…annnnnd I was wearing my glamorous “throwaway” outfit. Classy. 🙂

Anyway, I got past “security” and found a place in the local competitive area to just chill out. I was the first Flyer there, but I was shortly joined by my teammate JD and one of my speedwork buddies, KL, where we all just chatted and chilled out til it was time to check our bags. By then, the “Snuggie Posse” of AK, NPT and JS was there (their throwaway gear was Snuggies!) as well as other Flyers…Lam, DC, CM, EF, SJ and more! To be honest-hanging with these people was the best thing about being in the LCS. The food/drink/coffee offered was the same as it would have been elsewhere, the lines for the bathrooms eventually did get long, but having my friends and training partners around was actually a calming influence (unfortunately it seemed like no one else would have really been in wave 2 if I wound up having to stay there.) And I didn’t feel intimidated at all..I was owning it (my low bib #), I knew I belonged there.

So at around 8:50, we were given the green light to head out onto the bridge. I could see the green start runners in their corrals, waiting to be unleashed…they were after we made our way onto the bridge and some of the people with 3xxx and 5xxx bibs got mixed in with us…which personally I was OK with. I knew I still had a decent starting position (I could actually see the start line from where I was) and my intention was to line up at the back of the corral anyway. I got separated from KL and the Snuggie Posse, but I found myself lined up with DC, DK, ML and MH (who scored points in my book for wearing Yankee temporary tattoos, in addition to running another great race!) And again, they were good people to have around me while waiting for the start, especially DC who was taking pictures and giving me “run happy” (a la Brooks) vibes 🙂 We heard the introduction of the pro men and knew it wasn’t much longer. The National Anthem. Mary Wittenberg’s annual speech (“New York City awaits you…”) The cannon. New York, New York. It was time.

Staten Island/Verrazano Bridge/first 5k

So the focus here-staying in control. If others pass me on the bridge…let them go. Tried to block everyone else out. And as it turned out, the first 2 miles wound up averaging right on pace, so mission accomplished. And actually, I didn’t mind being on the lower level of the bridge at all! (And please let me be known..the supposed “golden showers”? Total urban legend.) However, the part of the green course I really didn’t like? The part between the bridge and when we joined up with everyone else on 4th Ave…seemed like that part was lacking in crowd support, unlike that part of the orange and blue starts.

Brooklyn!

4th Ave and time to lock in. Once again, I loved the support and cheering crowds here…sorry Manhattan, but I think this may have replaced you as my favorite borough in the race! 🙂 I was just along for the ride, having fun…and I guess some of my splits may have shown I was having a little too much fun? But this part of the course felt sorta flat/downhill so that may be why.

By then, was still cool but very sunny and I kinda regretted keeping my arm warmers on. I took my first gel right on schedule at the 10K point, but found myself having more water than Gatorade along the way…seemed more “refreshing.”

So then the mile 8 merge happened and slowed us up a little bit. So much for the wave starts eliminating that congestion (thank you, “honor system”!)…anyways, just cruised along Lafayette Ave in Fort Greene. Unlike previous years, I was actually looking forward to the Williamsburg portion of the course. Why? In a way, it sorta felt like “home” for me. First was seeing Coach T cheering along with EK and KS in mile 10. I realized that in previous marathons, the coach had never been out there on race day…so in a way, this meant a lot. Afterwards, Coach T told me that I “looked like I was cruising…that I so had it, was right on pace.” At the time, definitely true! Then northern Williamsburg and Bedford Avenue, especially the part through McCarren Park was a “homecoming” of sorts…how many times have I walked along that street from the L train to the track? Definitely familiar territory. Turned onto the usually festive Manhattan Ave (oh the irony…Manhattan in Brooklyn…hehe)…a right turn, then a left on McGuinness…just like in the 3 bridges run. And here was the Pulaski Bridge and the halfway point-1:47:34. Hmmm a little slow for sub-3:35, but maybe I can run a more even 2nd half than in the past? But at least you can’t say I went out too fast 🙂

Queens

Not to knock all you Queens bees (hey, I was born in Queens!) but in the past, Queens just felt like a “filler” borough…not really eventful (well except for the idiot knocking me down in 2006) And I guess it was the same this time around. I remembered seeing Celia somewhere in mile 14 waiting for her friend to run with but that was about it. And as a matter of fact, I did start to feel a little bit of a fade. I told myself to try and keep it together, knock out the bridge, Manhattan will make it all better. So yeah, the bridge was actually a little bit of relief for me, knowing that once this was done, the worst would be behind me. I knew I would lose some time on the incline, just wanted for once to get that mile under 9 minutes (which I did.) Our Denver-ite Flyer TB passed me on the uphill…I knew his “taking it easy” would eventually catch up to my racing this thing (though he claimed otherwise beforehand…think there may have been beers at the after-party riding on it?) Anyway, unlike the 3 Bridges run, the incline on the Queensboro didn’t feel like it increased in length and tried to pick it up on the downhill, but tried to be careful to not trash my quads in the process…still 10 miles to go!!

First Avenue

Always the part I look forward to most…but today it didn’t seem the same. Compared to 4th Ave in Brooklyn, the crowds here seemed kind of…subdued? I dunno. I couldn’t seem to pick up my pace…looks like 3:35 may be out, but keep it around 8:30s and I can still get a sub-3:40 BQ. 8:30s…I can do that. And I was able to for a coupla miles. Oh was it great to see the Flyers at the PowerGel station at mile 18. And my parents around 103rd with their signs (one sign said “Next stop…Boston!”, the other one along with the lettering had paw prints on it for my dog brother…that made me smile at least 🙂 )

But after that, upper 1st Ave had more fading…not sure what was going on. On top of that, my stomach was bugging me a little. I had taken all my gels on schedule, and these were gels I have used many, many times in training (tangerine PowerGel) that I knew it shouldn’t give me any issues so needless to say it was a little puzzling. I saw LG right before the Willis Ave Bridge, he had a bottle of water for me which was much needed. “Keep it up. You look strong,” he said to me. Oh if only you knew how I was really feeling…looks are deceiving…

The Bronx

And as always, PD was making his appearance in a kilt and bagpipes on the Willis Avenue Bridge. That was the bright spot of this borough for me. (and I didn’t even spot Yankee Stadium this time…damn.)

During Mile 21, I had to do the unthinkable and make a port-a-potty stop. I’ve never had to do this in a marathon before, but I just hoped that taking care of “business” then and there would just help me gut out the last 5 or so miles. Well losing a minute or so in that mile lost the BQ for me…down but not out. Maybe if I can pull it together I can still PR. I force-fed myself my last gel-just to hopefully give myself some energy-as we left the Bronx and hoped for the best…

Manhattan-5th Ave to the finish line

I had really lucked out in my first marathon. If there was a wall, I never felt it. But here today, in the marathon I was best trained for, I was experiencing the wall. The gel I force-fed myself did absolutely nothing. I was afraid to take anymore of the too-sweet Gatorade as I didn’t want it upsetting my stomach any more. I just took water where I could and just kept moving forward. NPT passed me around Marcus Garvey Park and said “come on, hang in there, you got this”…oh how I wish I could have stuck with her. But it wasn’t happening. So the “just PR” turned into “maybe get under 3:50?” The 5th ave hill slayed me as always. My parents were just past the mile 23 marker and as they said later, knew something wasn’t right because I wasn’t smiling like I usually would be at that point. I just wanted to get to the park and finish this thing.

But I began to feel sick again after I entered the park. I had to ask a couple of times where a porta-potty was, as I had to go AGAIN. :-\ As there was nothing, I was forced to make an emergency stop at the Boathouse, and thank god there was an empty stall. But even after getting that done, it disrupted my rhythm, as I found it hard to start running again…I’d start up then slow to a walk. And I was still feeling somewhat nauseous. All the spectators yelling my name did nothing…and those yelling “almost there”…oh you know how I felt about that. A mile and a half to the finish still felt like an eternity.

Anyway, with a million sets of goals out the window, I wanted to still salvage one-finish under 4 hours. I looked at my watch and did some quick math, and made a deal with myself. Run/walk it to 25, then run it in to the end. Making the right turn onto Central Park South was a huge relief. Even though the mile split was slow, the crowds did make it feel like it went by faster…and I heard a certain Katy Perry song that I really liked, but honestly I didn’t feel like a firework right then and there 😛 The half-mile to go sign was in sight and that brought relief, that I was gonna make it under 4. I saw Flyer CN around there…she had passed me while I was walking but she was struggling here too…we tried to get each other through this last bit and it helped me to see a friendly face.

Milke 26 came and went, and then there was the evil Tavern hill and then the finish line was in sight…but for the first time, I sorta felt numb while finishing this one. I mean yeah, I had a smile on my face, arms up in celebration for the cameras, but this just seemed…anticlimactic. Anyway, another one was in the books and thankfully kept up my perfect record of sub-4’s with a 3:55:30.

After the finish line

Got my medal…and I will admit, I love the quote that is on the back of the medal-a quote from Grete Waitz “In New York, everyone wins.” I had seen that at the expo and that was part of what kept me going in the late, painful miles…I wanted that medal!! Got the heat sheet, food and drink bag, finisher photo…I immediately tore into the Gatorade recovery beverage but I still felt awful. Everything was cramping, I still felt nauseous…and I was just being told to keep moving. I saw a med tent, with a sign saying “last med tent before 77th street exit” (which was where I had to go to get my bag.) I was supposed to meet my parents and grab a bite with them but I knew I needed some kind of help…I was in bad shape. So I hit the med tent-where I got the cramps in my legs and one of my shoulders massaged out. They also gave me chicken soup, a salt packet, and some regular Gatorade (not the sickly-sweet stuff that was on the course)…I was definitely dehydrated and in need of electrolytes.

Finally I was feeling well enough to get up and go (and according to the medics, had some color back…I looked pale and sick before they treated me.) Unfortunately, by the time I got to my bag and was able to get in touch with the ‘rents, they had already left…kinda sucked but understandable considering I couldn’t get in touch and explain the delay. So was just me, replenishing with a Shake Shack burger and fries and cleaning up to head out to the Flyers’ post-party at The Parlour. (oh and while showering, I noticed a “don’t do anything new on race day” mistake. The HRM that came with the new Mr. Garmin? I hadn’t used it on a long enough run and it chafed the hell out of me. Plus it was giving me wacky readings all day…max HR of 233? I don’t think so!)

As for the post-party, was a good time. Hey, misery loves company, right? 🙂 It did help seeing my teammates and friends…unlike the MCM disaster where I had to drown my sorrows by myself afterwards! Anyway, the emotions amongst my teammates about their races were varied…happiness, disappointment, indifference, acceptance, looking to get revenge in the next race…just to name a few. But nothing Blue Moons can’t fix I guess 😛

As for my race? I think the word that sums it up is “inconclusive.” Meaning I’m not sure what was the cause-or causes-of it going wrong. Maybe the 3:35 goal was too ambitious, should have just gone for 3:40? (As I did not go out too fast for a 3:35 goal.) Something nutrition-related? Was the Gatorade on the course mixed in a way that was making me feel sick? And I had been feeling a hint of a cold the day before and even that morning, maybe that affected me?

Well whatever it is, got 5 months to figure it out. Hoping for redemption on April 16th…

Well obviously I didn’t get my goal, or anywhere close to it. 3:55:30. Thankfully still got under 4 and didn’t get a personal worst, but definitely was not the race I trained for or wanted by a long shot.

Short story-after running the first half right on pace, it all went to hell in the 2nd half. Maybe my 3:35 goal was too ambitious. In addition, dealt with nutritional issues that caused 2 unplanned pit stops, lotsa cramping and nausea and even a med tent visit post finish.

Not sure if I am gonna post a full report…still trying to process it all. Admittedly, it’s quite disappointing for me. Even dealing with 80 degrees in Chicago last year was better than this…

I’ll let the splits tell the story for now, as ugly as they are. (FYI-the “pace/mile” column is cumulative time, not per mile. I only wish I was still hitting sub-9’s late in the going…)

Less than 24 hours to go. In fact, if all goes according to plan, this time tomorrow I will be well into the last 10K of the race…

So the 1st half of the week just wrapping up things at the office for the next few days…and being told by co-workers that I should try and “win” on Sunday so that I could buy our department so we don’t have to work anymore. LOL.

Then starts what I feel is the best 4-day weekend of the year!! Starting off on Thursday at the expo…and getting my bib #…thats when it starts to feel real!!

And yes, I know I mentioned a month or so ago that I had gotten assigned originally to wave 2 blue…but thanks to my Philly Half time, I got the NYCM version of the “judges save” and re-assigned to the Local Competitive Start!! I’m definitely excited about this experience. I don’t even mind being in green on the lower level…I’ve been orange once and blue once, might as well come full circle no? 🙂 In terms of race day, I know I will really have to rein it in at the start-there are definitely gonna be faster peeps around me, I’m just gonna have to let them go and not get too caught up…run my own race!!

And whether the number is low or high, I always like looking for meaning in my race #’s. And I’m really liking this one!! 744=7+44=the numbers of Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson-2 Yankee greats!! How can that not bring me luck? 🙂

As for the expo, was pretty status quo for NYC. Didn’t stop me from indulging in some running-related loot…hey, the expo is a candy store for runners. Most excited about my new Sparkly Soul headbands-I wore a thin silver one on my last run yesterday and the thick hot pink one will be running with me tomorrow-definitely will be reviews to come 🙂 One notable abscence at the expo was Nike-now that was big! I usually get my post-race shirt at the Nike booth…yep, that’s a superstition of mine. I have to get a shirt that I plan to wear to a post-race party. Only time I didn’t was MCM…and you know what happened there 😉 Anyway, this time around Saucony or Asics will represent my post-race attire.

Thursday nite was the Flyers’ pasta party! Change of pace for the venue this year, instead of Sambuca on the UWS where it had been been for the past 5 years-it was at a midtown venue this time-Trattoria Dopo Teatro. Gotta love that it was within walking distance. Though I never minded taking the subway to the UWS. Anyway, once again, food and company were great, and we were treated to a great and inspirational presentation by Bart Yasso!! He autographed a copy of his book for me (which I’m really looking forward to reading, if his presentation was only a sneak preview!)

"never limit where running can take you"

Yesterday was my last run before the big day…did the last 2.2 miles of the course, and even brought my camera to capture things like the mile markers, route banners, finish line. Then got my pre-race mani/pedi-Watermelon for the fingers, Borrowed and Blue for the toes, both by Essie. That’s what I’ve been wearing since the summer for races…and if it ain’t broke 😉 Today is just carbo-loading, chilling, staying off the feet.

As for tomorrow…honestly, I’ve never been this calm before a marathon. Coach T has truly been a miracle worker with me this year! And even though the poll results says otherwise…I’m gonna go for 3:35 tomorrow. I’ll know early enough if it’s gonna be doable or not (I’ve had pretty good judgement of that in the past!) and can adjust but as of right now, that’s the plan. Thankfully the weather gods are smiling on us again! 🙂

So thanks to everyone who’s read along and supported me the last 4 months and more…and that’s all she wrote til I cross the finish line at Tavern on the Green tomorrow!! Good luck to everyone else running tomorrow!!

So of course, taper week 2 is not without being packed with excitement…yeah if you can call it that.

So track was 8 x 400…no more 1000’s or 1200’s, just short stuff from there on in. I hit my usual 1:35-1:36 with a 1:34 thrown in there….so while the workout was status quo, of course drama has to come from the loose soccer balls, which one unfortunately nabbed me in the shin-thank God I had my compression sox on!!

Wednesday I knew I had to get my recovery run done in the AM, as between an all-company meeting and the annual celebration of Oktoberfest at work, I knew it was gonna be a wasted day, no pun intended, and that no workout was gonna happen after work. Sure enough, after sampling all 4 of the CFO’s varieties of home brew I hit the bar afterwards with some other colleagues…yep that was a late nite.

Thursday nite was cold and very rainy. Cold I can deal with…but no need to be a weather hero so close to game time. So I bailed on that nite’s workout in favor of some much-needed rest.

As for the weekend…did anyone imagine that it would snow in October? Yeah, when I saw the forecast a coupla days out I didn’t believe it. I mean, I didn’t see a low of 32 degrees or lower anywhere. Boy we were in for a surprise on Saturday!! My original plan to do a short run including the 5th Ave hill was scrapped in favor of the dreadmill and a yoga class. On the topic of the dreadmill, I’m finding I actually don’t mind the Woodway brand too much…there’s usually 1 or 2 at the NYSC locations, so if I absolutely have to resort to the dreadmill, I hit up one of those!

So as Central Park was closed for part of yesterday, I hit up the West Side path for my last long run-8 miles with 7 @ MP. The conditions on the path, post-snowstorm were pretty good. It wasn’t too cold (I was actually wearing shorts!) though it was pretty windy-the big downside to running along the water, as it meant running into headwinds…and I’m sure you can tell which were the headwind miles.

Running into the wind, those first coupla miles were slower than I wanted. And even though overall I hit the time, of course I couldn’t help but panic that if it is windy on Sunday, then I am screwed… 😛

Oh yeah how does that weather look? I know there’s time for it to change, but…

Actually-a little warmer than I would like (ideal for me would be in the 40’s) but compared to this past weekend-I’ll take it!!

So to give some background, I might as well reveal my several tiers of race goals.

Finish. After MCM in 2009, I will never take finishing for granted ever again.

Sub-4. I’ve never run a marathon over 4 hours. I’d kind of like to keep up that streak.

Sub-3:40. Will be my third time trying for it!! Would love to get this time after it has eluded me the last coupla years…and oh yeah, is also the new BQ time for my age group.

Sub-3:35. BQ-5 for me, or the open standard…would be kinda cool to get even though I’ve aged up 🙂 Using my SI Half time as a predictor, McMillan sez 3:31:51. Doable? Maybe. My MP work has been around that pace… (and for what it’s worth, in 2008 McMillan predicted a time 23 secs slower than what I actually ran in NYC! Pretty damn close.)

If things were to go totally, absolutely perfect…stars aligned, etc…sub-3:30. in other words, I don’t anticipate this one happening. If it does, I will be dancing on tables 🙂 Daniels predicts 3:28:39 from my SI Half time, but I still feel that is a little aggressive…

Training seemed, mileage-wise, to be sorta in line with 2008-which coincidentally, was my last good marathon 🙂 But lot more quality this time around (track, tempo, hills), including MP work, and the race times showed it 🙂

And for fun, a little comparison of the tune-up races in previous years and what they led to on race day 🙂

NYC 2006

NYC 2008

Chicago 2010

NYC 2011

5K

N/A

22:44

23:24
22:48

22:30

4 mile

N/A

N/A

N/A

28:43

5 mile

39:03

38:11

37:36

36:00

Half-marathon

1:47:51 (NYC Half)
1:48:57 (Grete’s)

1:42:20

1:44:19 (extrapolated from 20K time)

1:38:58 (flat)
1:40:27 (hilly)

Marathon result

3:58:26

3:44:14

3:43:06

???

Vote early. But do not vote often-I once again fixed it so certain people won’t try and stuff the ballot box…you all know who you are!

Sunday was the “last 10 miles” run. Which was good, I needed to revisit 5th Avenue. And given that the portion in the Bronx changed since I ran the race last, would be a good idea to check that out as well and make mental notes.

So no need to take a cab this time, I was supposed to get in 12-14 miles so running to the meetup spot from midtown was a perfect warmup. A big crowd was assembled, not quite the 500 from last week but still a decent size. We separated into pace groups…I was 9 minutes…duh 😛 And set off.

Once again, I tried to make notes of hills (one i specifically seemed to take note of was up to 86th)…hmmm not as bad as I remembered though. Almost made a wrong turn in Da Bronx at that 3 way intersection but got back on track 🙂 There’s gonna be a coupla really quick turns around 140th….tangents, anyone?

The first mile was right on the money at 8:57, but afterwards I noticed others were starting to push the pace a bit and I was falling behind. Was barely hanging in there, thank god for the intersections to regroup. Even when we got back to Manhattan, I didn’t want to push it, as I had to save something for 5th Avenue. And unfortunately, that was where I really got dropped. So frustrating. I had to do under 8:40 at that point and yet I couldn’t stick with everyone. (remember, this was supposed to be the 9:00 group…) At that point it was just like “get to the park, and get this done without embarrassing myself further.”

And overall was definitely quicker than I wanted, the 10 turned out to average 8:39 pace. So much for just doing 9’s and cruising through it. But the frustrating part was not being able to stick with the group when they were going faster, especially since most were people I should be able to stick with in workouts or races, if not finish ahead of. The only way I could have stuck with them was if I turned it into a race effort, as is I was at the very edge of my comfort zone. How will I ever run a faster pace in 2 weeks if I can’t do it now? Thankfully Coach T was amongst those waiting for everyone at the finish, as I definitely had to vent…

I really hope this run was just a fluke, but who knows? One more chance to run MP next weekend and I really hope I nail it. And hope the legs get with the program next time I have to run 5th Avenue…

And the 15-day forecast for November 6th is out. Let the weather obsessions begin!